Measurements

Ladder-backed Woodpeckers are black-and-white above, with neat stripes like ladder rungs on the back, and a more checkered pattern on the wings. The underparts are buffy white or grayish, stippled with black. The buffy white face is broken by black lines that extend from the bill and eye and join at the neck. Males have mostly red crowns; females have blackish crowns.

Ladder-backed Woodpeckers forage by hitching around branches, pecking at bark or other spots that might hold insects or larvae. Most of the time they stay hidden in vegetation as they forage and are usually detected first by their calls or by their rapid drumming on trees. Their flight is rapid, with an undulating pattern, but they don’t tend to fly for long periods.